Knockdown furniture



March 31, 1942. J, E, BALEs KNocKDowN FURNITURE original Filed oct. 22,1938

Patented Mar. 31, 1942 E @FPI-CE KNOCKDOWN FURNITURE Original application October 22, 1938, Serial No.

Divided and this application February 26, 1940, Serial No. 320,755

Claims. (C1. 2li-130) The present invention relates to knockdown or collapsible furniture.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved piece of knockdown furniture comprising a supported table platform, together with a plurality of tray constructions suitable for displaying merchandise, parts of which are held together resiliently and free from conventional fasteners to provide a strong, rigid structure which may, however, be readily reduced to its constituent, individual parts for facilitating shipment or storage. The present application relates to subject matter divided out of my co-pending application, Serial No. 236,495, filed October 22, 1938, and issued as Patent No. 2,256,996, and the disclosure and claims are directed to the tray construction.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention contemplates particularly the provision of a collapsible tray construction for mounting or disposal upon any suitable supporting surface.

An important object 0f the present invention is to provide a tray or platform, together with asupporting structure, as above, comprising sup porting legs rigidly inter-engaged with the tray and also with a suitable supporting surface or frame, the connections being collapsible, but so relatively disposed as to otherwise permanently maintain their respective inter-engagement.

It is a yet more particular object of the present invention to provide an elevated platform or tray construction, as above, wherein the members are freely received by recesses adjacent the platform and inter-engage with a lower platform so as to positively maintain inter-engagement with said recesses.

The present invention yet further contemplates the provision of a permanent locking construction, as above, wherein the parts are resiliently dis-engageable and particularly wherein the dis-engaging forces are applicable laterally to the direction of application of the stock supporting forces whereby the collapsibility of the unit is completely independent of the load supported by the platform.

Among other important objects of the present invention are to provide a plurality of individual parts capable of being inter-connected by a substantially unskilled person to provide a rigid, permanent structure, which parts are so conlgurated as, when in a collected, uri-assembled relationship, to occupy little additional space over that required by the supporting platform; to provide a construction, as above, wherein the natural resiliency of supporting legs or supporting risers permits them to be sprung out of interengagement with a complementary member for initiating dis-memberment of the unit; to provide a construction such as the foregoing wherein riser receiving recesses are defined by strengthening channels disposed upon the lower portion of the supporting platforms and trays for additionally rigidifying these members; and to provide improved, simplified supporting leg constructions which may be readily formed from elongated or bar stock by simple operation.

Yet other and further objects and advantages will more fully appear when considered in connection with the following speciiication, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a tray construction embodying the present invention as shown mounted upon a supporting table surface;

Fig. 2l isa detail sectional view taken vertically on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the same plane as Fig. 2, illustrating the resilient inter-engagement between the supporting risers and the lower supporting surface.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4 4 -of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the riser tray constructions showing a pair of supporting legs or risers in un-assembled relationship for the purpose of illustrating their manner of dis-connection from the assembly.

'Referring to the figures of the drawing Wherein one illustrated embodiment of the invention is disclosed more in detail, reference numeral I0 represents a supporting means preferably shown as a surface or platform which, in the present instance, comprises a table top. Upon the table are disposed a pair of riser and tray or platform constructions I 2 and I4 respectively. It will be noted that, with the exception of a relative variation in the dimensions of the platforms or trays comprising the respective assemblies l2 and i4, .the parts are otherwise identical and a description of one will serve for both.

It will be apparent from a consideration of Fig. 1, however, that the invention contemplates the provision of a plurality of super-posed Vtrays or platforms in vertically disposed elevations above the table top for display, storage or merchandising of stock. It is to this end, therefore, that the lower display unit I2 is provided with a tray or platform I6 of slightly greater area than the tray I8 of the super-posed unit. Preferably also, the platform I6 has peripheral margins insert from the margins of the table top l0 whereby the series of supporting platforms are of progressively decreasing area in a vertical direction for facilitating access to all of the trays. The platforms I6 and I8 both are provided with upwardly extending peripheral, marginal flanges 20, functioning as retaining walls and finished at their upper, free margins by a flat bead 22 (Fig. 2)

A pair of channel members 24 are disposed longitudinally across the bottom surfaces of the platforms I6 and I8 in spaced, parallel relationship and possess a configuration shown more in detail in Fig. 4 comprising namely, a U-shaped, downwardly looped, central portion 26 terminating in oppositely extending, flat, horizontal side anges 28. It will be seen that the anges 28 reside latwise against the bottom of the platform I8,

for example, and are permanently secured thereto by welding as at 30. Accordingly, therefore, the channels 24 not only longitudinally rigidify the relatively thin sheet wall I8, but provide a recess suitable for the reception of a cylindrical insert, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described in greater detail. In other words, aside from conferring rigidity upon the trays, the stiffeners provide a permanent means for inter-connecting to the trays, supporting legs, rods or risers indicated, in general, by the reference numeral 32.

The leg units, as shown clearly in all the figures, are formed from elongated bar stock, bent to a U-shape configuration to provide resilient members in the form of upstanding or depending legs oi risers 34 joined adjacent their lower extremities by a transversely extending arm 36. The upper extremities of the legs terminate in short, laterally projecting fingers 36. It should be noted that the short extensions 38 project normally to the plane in which are disposed both legs 34 and the transverse connecting section 36. The short projecting extremities 36 moreover are disposed in parallel relationship while separated a distance equal to the lateral spacing of the stiifening channels 24 for reception within the recesses provided by the extremities of the said channels. In short, the recess or enclosure formed by the central, U-shaped portion 26 of the stiffeners has a configuration corresponding to the sectional shape of the projections 38.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the leg unit 32, when disposed with the projecting extremities 38 within the open ends of the stiffeners 24, is engaged thereby, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Attention is particularly directed to the fact that the lower arm of the leg unit 32 is received by rod clips or cleats 40 (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5) permanently secured to the lower supporting surface and comprising a fiat flange portion 42 welded liatwise to the lower surface as at 44 and integral with an upwardly curved ange 46. It will be seen that the upwardly disposed, curved ange 46 is of semicylindrical sectional configuration and provides an abutment for one lateral side face of the riser extending transversely across the upper surfaces of the supporting surfaces. The cleats are, moreover, of substantially the same longitudinal extent as the arms or bars 36 for reception thereof and it is particularly important to note that they face inwardly in such a manner that the recesses provided by the curved flange are disposed so that they face one another and the transverse median line of the surface upon which they are mounted. In the structure disclosed it will be apparent that the upstanding portions of the clips 40 abut the outer lateral side of the transverse bars 36 of the leg units which in turn react yieldably thereagainst and permanently locate the trays in the position shown in Fig. l. On the other hand, the natural resiliency inherent in the elongated bars or arms 34 permits the lower portions thereof to yield inwardly, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, disengaging these members from the adjacent rod clips.

Accordingly, the tray structures may be removed by merely disengaging the arm 34 from the clip 36, as viewed in Fig. 3, to separate the trays, as shown in Fig. 5. At this time the tray supporting leg units are freely removable from the tray by merely withdrawing the extremities 38 from the recesses provided by the stiffeners 24. Conversely, the parts are adapted for ready reassembly by simply reinserting the leg extremities 38 within the recesses in the trays and then interlocking both lower transversely extending arms 36 behind the retaining clips 46. It should furthermore be noted that when the leg units 32 are inter-engaged with the retaining clips 46, as aforementioned, their extremities are positively maintained within the engaging recesses formed by stileners 24. In other words, the clips 40 operate to positively maintain the leg units in inter-engagement with the upper tray, while the engagement between the upper platform and the leg units is such as to yieldably hold the leg units in interlocking engagement with the lower supporting platform. That is to say, the present invention provides interlocking means on both the upper and lower platforms which mutually cooperate to positively maintain their engagement with the receptive extremities of the riser unit, which inter-engagement is released by yieldable distortion of the parts.

Thus, in spite of the fact that the device is freely and immediately collapsible at all times, nevertheless, when assembled as shown in Fig. 1, the construction is characterized by great structural strength and rigidity insofar as the support of a substantial quantity of stock or merchandise is concerned. The invention moreover provides a perfectly safe and reliable structure collapsible only when a predetermined force is applied in a predetermined direction which is lateral to the direction of resolution of the usual supporting forces. In other words, the disposition of even materially exaggerated loads upon the supporting platforms is ineffective to create lateral forces in such a direction as to cause or initiate the collapse of the structure.

It will be noted, from the foregoing, that I prefer to so configurate the leg units that the lower portions 36 thereof tend to exert a lateral, yieldable force against the cleats 46. Thus, by virtue of the inherent resiliency of the risers or legs 34, the lower extremities are resiliently shiftable, and advantage is taken of this property in proportioning the structure so that the lower extremities normally impinge the receiving cleats 46 with a yieldable pressure. Meanwhile, of course, the recess means 24 receives the upper portions of the leg units 38 complementarily and over a considerable length of interengagement so that at this point the leg sections are ixedly and positively engaged against relative movement, whether linear or angular, in any direction related to the direction of the application of the reactionary force by the cleat 46. In other words, in so far as the application of a reactionary force by the cleat 46 is concerned, the upper extremity of the leg or riser has a rigidly xed interengagement with the platform. Therefore, the leg units must yield or flex laterally a short distance in order to effect permanent maintenance of opposed lateral forces against the respective cleats for resiliently maintaining the parts in assembledl position.

The present invention provides a merchandising structure which is not only capable of being assembled from a plurality of parts to provide a firm, secure article of furniture, but which, at the same time, provides relatively simple and inexpensive manufacturing steps and comprises quite simplified assembly parts. The device accordingly may be transported in the form of its individual component parts and assembled by any unskilled person. It will be noted that the component parts of each tray construction, when separated, occupy only a small space and that a plurality of trays and/or leg units may be readily nested together.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its attendant advantages, the form herein described being a preferred embodiment for the purpose of illustrating the invention.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l. In a furniture or display device of the class described comprising a horizontal supporting means, a supporting platform for supporting articles at a predetermined, elevated point disposed above said supporting means, said platform having recesses, means for maintaining said platform at said predetermined, elevated point comprising a plurality of spaced leg structures, each leg structure comprising upstanding risers having laterally projecting arms adjacent the upper portion, said arms being receivable within said recesses for securing the leg structures to the platform, and clip means on said horizontal supporting means and engageable with opposite lateral side portions only of said spaced leg structures for maintaining the assembled unit at a fixed, predetermined point and operable to hold said extremities within said recesses, said leg structures being yieldable out of said clip means for permitting dismemberment of the device,

2. In a furniture or display device of the class described, a support for supporting articles at a predetermined, elevated point, means for maintaining said member at said predetermined, elevated point comprising leg structures, each leg structure comprising upstanding, supporting leg members having laterally extending arms adjacent their upper portions extending in a predetermined lateral direction, recess means on said support, said arms being receivable within said recesses for mounting the leg structures with respect to the supporting members, and clip means supported below said support and engageable with the lower portion of said leg structures, said clip means comprising upstanding members providing recesses facing in substantially the same direction as said arms and complementarily receiving one lateral side of said leg structure only to retain said arms in interengagement with the supporting members.

3. In a display or merchandising device, a first support, a second support arranged above said rst support, means for xedly positioning said supports in spaced vertical relation comprising intervening, supporting leg members, said leg members having substantially oppositely and laterally projecting arms formed adjacent one of their ends, recess means on one of said ksupports adapted to receive said oppositely extending arms, and elongated recessed means mounted on the other of said supports and extending in a vertical plane located transversely to the vertical plane 'of said arms and engaging correspondingly disposed Aportions of said leg members to flxedly position said supports with respect to each other -while oppositely retaining said arms in interengagement with `said recess means.

4. In a display device of the class described, supporting means, a platform for displaying merchandise in spaced, vertically disposed relationship above said supporting means, means for disposing said display platform thereabove comprising `a plurality of spaced legs, each leg comprising a pair of vertical risers each having a laterally projecting arm adjacent its upper portion, said supporting platform having means mounted thereon providing outwardly facing recesses complementary to said arms for reception thereof, and clip means on said supporting means constructed and disposed for laterally embracing the lower portion of said leg on the side laterally opposite to said arm and being operative positively to prevent lateral movement of said legs as a unit out of said platform recesses, lsaid legs being yieldable out of said clip members for permitting dis-memberment of the device.

5. In a ydisplay device lof the class described, a horizontal support, a platform for displaying merchandisein spaced, vertically disposed relationship above said support, means for disposing said display platform thereabove comprising a plurality of legs, each leg comprising a vertical riser having a laterally projecting arm adjacent its upper portion, said display platform having means mounted thereon providing an outwardly facing recess complementary to each said arm for reception thereof, and clip means on said horizontal support and constructed and disposed for laterally embracing the lower portion of each leg on only the side laterally opposite to said arms and being operative positively to prevent lateral movement of said legs as a unit out of said platform recesses, each leg being angularly yieldable with respect to its recess for permitting lateral dis-engagement from the clip in the lateral direction of said arm.

6. In a device of the class described comprising a lower support, a platform, and means for disposing said platform in vertically spaced relationship above said support, said last-named means comprising laterally yieldable risers extending between said support and platform and freely separable interlocking connection means between the upper extremities thereof and the platform, in which each riser is separable from the platform in a predetermined direction only, abutment means on said support, said yieldable risers having lower portions resiliently urged laterally against said abutments, and said abutments exerting a reactionary force against said yieldable risers in said predetermined direction and operative to hold said risers in interlocking engagement with the platform, the risers being laterally yieldable away from the abutment for dis-engagement therefrom.

7. An article of knockdown furniture of the class described, comprising a lower support, a platform above said support, means for disposing said platform in vertically spaced relationship above the support, said last-named means comprising a pair of risers extending upwardly between the support and the platform and separably engaged adjacent their upper extremities with said platform, said risers being laterally resilient and yieldable at their lower portions, a pair of abutment means mounted on said support, each of said abutment means being associated with one of said risers and exerting a substantial lateral force against the lower portion of its respective riser, said abutment means being disposed on relative opposite sides of said risers a distance apart less than the distance between the upper ends of said risers whereby said risers exert lateral forces on said abutments in substantially opposite directions for vertically centering the platform and holding the upper portions of said risers in operative engagement with the platform, the lower portions of said risers being free to flex away from their abutment means.

8. An article of knockdown furniture of the class described, comprising a lower support, a platform above said support, means for disposing said platform in vertically spaced relationship above the support, said last-named means comprising a pair of risers extending upwardly between the support and the platform and separably engaged adjacent their upper extremities with said platform, said risers being laterally resilient and yieldable at their lower portions, a pair of abutment means mounted on said support, each of said abutment means being associated with one of said risers and exerting a substantial lateral force against the lower portion of its respective riser, said abutments being disposed on relative opposite sides of said risers and exerting said lateral forces in substantially opposite directions for vertically centering the platform and holding the upper portions of said risers in operative engagement with the platform, said risers being yieldable away from the abutments, the means engaging the upper portions of each riser with the platform, rigidly and xedly holding the said upper portion of the said riser against angular and linear displacement in the direction of application of said respective lateral force, and the lateral force being opposed by yieldable lateral tensioning of the corresponding riser.

9. In a device of the class described, a pair of vertically spaced supports, and spaced resilient members held to one support against movement toward each other and extending from this support to the other support, the other of said supports having spaced abutments, said spaced resilient members being flexed out of normal position into engagement with the abutments, said abutments being constructed and arranged to prevent movement of said members away from each other and permitting free movement in a direction toward one another.

l0. In a device of the class described comprising a rst supporting means, a second supporting means adapted to be supported above the first mentioned supporting means, at least one of said supporting means having spaced abutments. and spaced resilient members held to the other of the supporting means against movement toward each other and extending from said other supporting means to the said one supporting means, said spaced resilient members being exed out of normal position into engagement with the abutments, said abutments being stationary on said one of said supporting means to prevent movement of said exed members away from each other, but being constructed and arranged to permit the yieldable movement of the flexed members toward each other.

JAMES E. BALES. 

